At least 14 people have died after a passenger jet crashed seconds after takeoff in the Kazakh city of Almaty.
Bek Air flight Z2100, operated by a Fokker 100, was carrying 95 passengers, three flight attendants, and two pilots. Bek Air is a small private airline based in Almaty. The flight was bound for Nur-Sultan (Astana) before it lost altitude shortly after takeoff and collided with a two-story concrete building at 7:22 AM local time.
Per CNN:
Data provided by Flightradar24 indicated the plane crashed 19 seconds after takeoff, approximately 5 kilometers (3.1 miles) from the airport. Videos and images of the crash site near Kyzyl Tu village show the damaged plane broken into several parts, with the nose embedded in a small partially-collapsed house.
Parts of the fuselage appeared to be relatively intact, however, raising hope that many of those on board had survived the initial impact.
66 passengers survived the initial crash and have been taken to local area hospitals. Over 2o are in critical condition.
During a morning press conference Kazakhstan’s Civil Aviation Committee announced all Fokker 100s would be grounded on a temporary basis as a precautionary measure. In a separate statement, Kazakh President Kassym-Jomart Tokayev expressed sorrow over the human loss while there would be “severe punishment in accordance with the law” for those responsible for the crash.
This is a developing story.
image: Bek Air
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